Question:

Our adult son is getting more and more disabled with his depression. Whether he has bipolar, schizophrenia or something else, we’re not sure, but he is so isolated he’ll hardly talk to anyone. His basement room is in shambles and he smells bad. He used to talk about killing himself but now he doesn’t even talk enough to let us know if he’s suicidal. We worry too about our granddaughter who is brave, but should be a little frightened to visit him on weekends. How can we help when he is so withdrawn? This has been a recurrent or cyclic problem by the way, but more intense each time.

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Question:

How can I decide whether to take an antidepressant medication?

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Question:

I moved to Seattle to renew my life, yet I’ve been as depressed as ever. Shouldn’t I be less vulnerable in a beautiful place like this?

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Question:

My husband is never satisfied. He complains about his work, our house and our kids, even though he’ll occasionally admit it’s all fundamentally OK.
I keep trying to tell him he’s depressed and occasionally he’ll kind of acknowledge it, but real soon he’ll go right back to blaming everyone and everything else for his woes.
I’m blue in the face from telling him he’s stuck in a bad pattern. How can I get him to address this?

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Question:

I take care of my ailing mother, and I’m very willing to do it. One problem though, is that she expects more than I can provide. I know that if I give her all the time she wants from me, her life would be better. On the other hand, mine would be worse, and by a larger proportion -a net loss between the two of us. She cannot recognize this, and her expressions of sadness at the neglect she experiences makes my want to cry. I am plagued by guilt. What can I do?

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Question:

I get no kick out of anything. Is this part of my depression? I know it’s a drag on my family, but how can I be expected to do things if there’s no satisfaction in it?

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Question:

Several years ago I survived a devastating divorce. With the help of therapy and a support group I came through some pretty heavy depression. Now, I’m happy to have a new mate in my life and we’re talking about getting married. Here’s what’s weird: suddenly I find myself crying about my old divorce again from time to time. Is this normal?

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Question:

I’m married and we have two year-old. My day starts at 5:00 when I get up, make my lunch and go to work. I pick up our son on the way home. Then I clean up breakfast, run the laundry, make supper, wash dishes. All at the same time I’m keeping our son entertained and getting him ready for bed. My husband comes home from work and watches TV. He says his job is so hard; he’s too tired to do anything else. The weekends aren’t a lot different. By the end of the day I’m so depressed. I wonder if I should ask my doctor to change my medication. And this is not what I thought my life should be like. I’m so confused!

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Quesion:

My relationship has needed a lot of help for a long time, and I’m tired. If I had the energy to do just one thing with my partner to pull us out of our nosedive, what should I do?

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Question:

I’m feeling so crummy these days. When I’m at my lowest, the negative thoughts start to take over and I feel like a goner. Any suggestions? I’m stuck at home with a disabled spouse.

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